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Show 5 BEYOND CAMPUS an emphasis on test scores. Even though we give out thousands of dollars in scholarships each year, the price of our tuition is very scary for refugee families and loans are not a possibility for them, Ferreira said. Our current process we use to administer scholarships are based on merit that is a combination of ACT and GPA. This will automatically dislodge most refugee students. Westminster offers some scholarships for incoming first-yestudents who belong to underrepresented groups, including Native American students, Hispanic students, students of color and students. Both and Ferreira said if Westminster were to to holistic, the change first year scholarships from merit-base- d campus would see more refugees and a more diverse population enrolling. works at Promise Salt Lake as mentor to the students. While she knows that the main goal of Walkways to Westminster isnt recruitment to Westminster, she said the ar first-generati- on Al-Barka- wi Al-Bark- program pushes it and students dont like it. They dont feel like they should go to Westminster, said. And when a school has a lot of issues with race and diversity, its hard for me to advocate them going to that school." said the educational opportunities at But Westminster arc unbeatable, making it hard for her to know how to advise the students. The students are more hesitant to talk about Westminsters is, but they said they dont diversity issues than know if they would feel comfortable at Westminster because of how little racial diversity the school offers. They said they dont see many college students who look like them or hear many who speak the same languages they do, which discourages them from applying. I think that the school needs to reach out to these stusaid. Just because they do a program at a dents, South Salt Lake school, they suddenly think they will get all wi wi wi wi of these students attending, and that isnt it. Ferreira and Dilley said Westminster is already taking steps toward creating a more diverse and inclusive campus. "Walkways to Westminster is doing great things with refugee students in South Salt Lake regarding college access, Dilley said. is more tentative to say that Westminster has started to change. Even if the school were to admit more refugee students, how can we possibly expect them to feel comfortable or succeed when the social environment is not made for them to said. Academia itself is be safe or feel accepted? still largely a space of white dominated thought. We need to work on decolonizing the academy, which means putting a spotlight on the voices who are often never heard. Admitting refugee students can help us bring an intersection of the voices needed on our campus and beyond. Al-Bark- wi |